Prologue to The Lost Hero
by chessrd
Summary: Here's what I think happened right before The Lost Hero...  T just because I'm paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue to **_**The Lost Hero**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**PJO**_** or **_**HoO**_** (though if Rick Riordan is feeling generous… no? Okay, nevermind)**

Okay, this is my first fanfiction – criticism accepted (and wanted!)

**Percy**

It was late at night. Annabeth and I were walking back to our cabins. The campfire finished about half an hour ago, but we had decided to take a midnight stroll on the beach.

"You know, Seaweed Brain, I wish every night was like this – calm, no one trying to kill us. Just the two of us."

"Even if it is freezing outside." We both laughed.

"I know what you mean, though, Annabeth. But then it just wouldn't be camp. In any case," I murmured as I kissed her, "I'm not going anywhere any time soon."

By then, we had reached the cabins. We said goodnight and shared a goodnight kiss and entered our respective cabins. I stared at my ceiling, thinking about the past few days. I finally got to see Annabeth, Grover, and a lot of my other friends after these long months. _Maybe nothing will go wrong for once_, I thought, as I drifted off to sleep.

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_Percy, wake up._

My eyes jolted open. I didn't know where I was. I was supposed to be in my cabin at camp but now… _Oh_. I was in the throne room on Olympus. I was fully dressed, lying at the base of my father's throne.

It was Olympus, but something was off. Some of the gods and goddesses were acting weird. Those particular gods and goddesses also looked slightly different.

I knelt before Zeus, except Zeus seemed kinda off.

"Why did you bring me here, Zeus?" I asked.

"I am Jupiter, not Zeus." I looked at him, confused.

Athena, noting my confusion, stated that Jupiter was Zeus's Roman form and explained the difference between the Greek and Roman gods.

"Thank you, Athena." She nodded. _So she's still Athena_.

Suddenly, I saw movement at the base of Hera's, no – _Juno's_ – throne. A boy about my age appeared and sat up. He bowed before Jupiter and Juno, but looked just as confused as I was.

However, he knew the difference between the Greek and Roman gods. "How come there are Greek gods here?" he asked Juno. Then, he spotted me.

"A Greek? What, in Pluto's name, is _he_ doing here?"

I approached him and held out my hand. "My name's Percy…"

He drew a sword sharply **(no pun intended)** and eyed me warily, as if he didn't trust me.

Juno looked at us. She said, "Jason, stand down. In order for the new prophecy to work, the Greeks and the Romans, whose camps have been separated for centuries, must be united."

I was confused. Then again, I'm confused a lot. "Romans? There's another camp? Why didn't we know about them? They could have helped us fight the Titans!" I thought of Beckendorf, Silena, all those who had died. I wondered who might still be alive if the Romans had fought with us.

The boy, whose name was apparently Jason, glared at me. "I was about to ask where _you_ were during the war. Why didn't you…"

Juno cut him off. "You see? This is why we need my plan. The two camps will never get along unless their leaders are exchanged!" Several gods nodded, other shook their heads.

Murmurs of "No, it's too risky," and "It'll never work. If they can't cooperate now, what will switching leaders and wiping memories do to help?" responded to Juno's statements.

"Say what?" Jason and I yelled when someone, I think it was Hephaestus, mentioned wiping memories. We glared at each other.

"I was hoping to give both of you a taste of each other's camp, to let you know what your allies are like. I'm hoping that if you look at each other's camp without your current prejudices, it will be easier for you to cooperate," Juno explained.

Mars stood up. "I, personally, am all for a fight…"

"SHUT UP!" the other gods roared. They had obviously been down that road recently.

"If you two think that you can cooperate, then we won't have to go with my plan. Unless there are any other ideas…" Juno looked around. No one, not even Athena, stepped forward.

"Then it's settled. You two have three days to prove to the council that you can cooperate. Otherwise, your memories will be wiped and you will be sent to each other's camps. Now go get some rest. Tomorrow will be your first day working together."

Each of the gods got up and left. Jason and I separated, each following our godly parent/patron (apparently, Jason had a _patron_ rather than a parent).

As we finally went our separate ways, we glared each other goodnight. This would never work. I sighed. Annabeth would know what to do…

Poseidon seemed to read my mind. "No, you may not speak to Annabeth, or anyone else from camp. You two need to prove you can do this by yourselves. _You_ are Camp Half-Blood's leader, not Annabeth. Now get some rest," and he teleported himself into the ocean.

I sighed. So much for my peaceful and ordinary break… I had realized a while ago that Jason and I weren't going to start coexisting peacefully anytime soon. I wondered when I would get to see Annabeth, my Wise Girl, again.

And with that sad thought, I fell asleep.

**So, what do you think? How could I have improved? Did you like it? Here's hoping you did!**

**Thanks for reading (and, hopefully, reviewing) ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the long wait. School's starting again, and I was having an internal battle as bloody as the second Titan war as to the direction the story should take. Since it's obvious neither side is going to win, I just decided to pick one, even though it doesn't feel right to. I'm not quite sure how long this is going to be. I know what I'm going to make the big event/climax, but ideas are always helpful!**

**I'm not really a writer (I really prefer reading fanfiction), and most of my writing is really done based on moment-of-inspiration type of ideas, so, again, ideas are really helpful! They help me think in different ways.**

**Again, sorry for the long wait, but here it is! Chapter 2!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or HoO.**

**Percy**

That night, I had a dream about the capture the flag game against the Hunters right after Annabeth had gone missing. Something told me to pay special attention to the part right after, when Thalia and I had our little, er, actually, big fight after the game. It was almost as if Annabeth was in my head, saying, "This can't happen with Jason if you want to see me again, Seaweed Brain."

Right after that, I woke up. I saw sunlight streaming through the windows of my room in Poseidon's palace. I checked the clock – it was 9:00.

I had just finished yawning and stretching when I saw a note on my bedside table.

_Percy,_

_You are to meet up with Jason at 10:30 at the arena for training. Don't bother looking around for Annabeth – she has been told not to come to Olympus for a few days. Please don't get into any big fights._

_Poseidon_

Ugh. I had no wish to see Jason anytime soon. For some reason, there seemed to be strong hostility between the two of us. I mean, I knew that Greeks and Romans were supposed to hate each other, but we hadn't done anything to each other. I hoped that we could smooth out our relationship, kinda like I did with Annabeth and Thalia.

I went and ate breakfast and wandered around Olympus, admiring Annabeth's work, until it was time to meet Jason.

When I walked in, I saw that Jason was already training against some dummies. When he saw me, his eyes hardened.

"Look," I said, "neither of us wants to be here or do this. But if we want to get back to our friends, we have to make this work."

"Fine, then we might as well start training," he replied.

After 5 minutes of slashing, lunging, and dodging, I finally broke the silence. "So, we might as well get to know a little bit about each other. My last name's Jackson."

"Mine's Grace."

At that moment, I lost my concentration and if it weren't for the Curse of Achilles, I would have been skewered.

I looked at him, shocked. "Did you just say _Grace_?"

He looked at me curiously. "Yeah, what's it to you?"

My mind was running as fast as it could, which was, mind you, not that fast. "Would you happen to know a Thalia Grace?"

Now it was his turn to look shocked. "How do you know Thalia? You better not have hurt her or – "

"No, no. She's doing great. It's just that she never told us that she had a brother."

By now, Riptide had returned to my pocket so we started training again. We were a little friendlier now that we had something in common. Don't get me wrong, there was still some hostility, but not nearly the amount that was there last night.

Around noon, we stopped training, went and showered, and had lunch. In the middle of lunch, we got a message from a nymph saying that Hera/Juno wanted to see us in the throne room after we finished our lunch.

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Juno seemed mildly surprised when we walked in calmly, no bickering whatsoever (except for a little friendly banter – it seems we're a lot alike. Not me-and-Thalia alike, but pretty close. I guess since because they're siblings it makes sense a little but still…).

She looked us up and down.

"Well, it seems as if you have passed your first test – training together without trying to kill each other."

I looked at her curiously. "Lady Hera, why does it seem like you are actually _disappointed_ that we passed the test?"

"I am not! Why would I be disappointed in your success?"

She looked somewhat angry, which is understandable, although I was surprised she didn't try to kill me right then and there. I figured it was probably because I was right.

"In any case," she huffed, "there are more tests the two of you must pass if you are to be sent back to your camps. You have the rest of today and tonight to prepare for them. No, I am not allowed to tell you what they are just yet. You may go."

Of course, just as we were walking out, she had to drop the bomb. And this wasn't your run-of-the-mill-blow-up-a-quarter-mile bomb. This was an uber-nuclear bomb sent to blow up all of the former USSR.

"By the way, Jason and Percy, your girlfriends miss you very much. Annabeth's been going crazy searching all over camp for you, Percy. She's really acting unlike herself. I wish I'd known her weakness was you, Percy. Oh, the fun I could have had with her."

She sighed, and then she continued, "And Reyna too, Jason, although Lupa's doing a better job than Chiron of keeping her and the rest of camp under control. I mean, really. Who knew a strong daughter of Bellona could cry so much and for so long?"

Jason and I looked at each other. We knew Hera/Juno was trying to destabilize us so we would fail, for whatever reason. The only problem was, it was working. I felt the sudden urge to Iris-message Annabeth, to tell her I was all right. I could tell the same thoughts were going through Jason's mind.

Hera/Juno was smiling. Ugh, I hated her so much right around then.

Jason and I went to try to prepare for any possible challenge; when we found this impossible, we tried to spar, but we were shaken too much.

We ended up just talking endlessly about our girlfriends, not really accomplishing anything. But Juno's small speech had changed something. Now, Jason and I were fighting a common enemy, sharing a common goal. We needed to get back to our friends and our camps. Now, we were closer than ever.

Juno might have been trying to debase us, and it might have worked. But there was a serious flaw in her calculations – she forgot to take into account how hard we would work to get back to the people we love.

**So, what do you think? I know I may have lost a bunch of readers because of the long update time, but to those of you left, please, talk to me!**

**Was anyone too OOC? Do you guys want me to try a Jason POV (I'm not sure how well that would go, but it might be worth a shot if the idea's popular enough)? Am I doing the story justice?**

**Until next time, chessrd signing out.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Note – I updated and re-uploaded Chapter 2 – I didn't make any major changes. It was just messing with my OCD that I still had Reyna as a daughter of Apollo even though we now know that she's a daughter of Bellona.**

**I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus – Rick Riordan does.**

**Percy**

When I work up the next morning, I found another note by my bedside.

_Congratulations on passing your first test, Percy! (and Jason… Jupiter would kill me if I didn't include that, so, yeah…) Go ahead and enjoy your breakfast. You have the day off until after lunch, when you should go to the arena for your next challenge._

_Best of luck!_

_Poseidon_

_Well_, I thought, _since I have the day off, maybe I could just… wait. What time is it?_

I looked at the clock. It read 10:09. So I had missed breakfast, and Jason was probably already up and wandering about. Just the thought of food made me hungry, and I had the sudden urge to go search around the palace. I soon found the kitchen and made myself a peanut butter sandwich. I chuckled at the thought of Tyson's battle cry during the last war while spreading the creamy peanut butter on my bread.

After finishing my breakfast, I went to see if I could find Jason. No doubt today's challenge would be harder than merely cooperating, despite the fact that he's Roman and I'm Greek. It seems like we have some stuff in common, especially our desire to see the people we care about soon.

I found him admiring Annabeth's recent work on Olympus.

"You know, my girlfriend's in charge of the whole rebuilding project," I said as a greeting.

"It's impressive," he conceded. "What do you think today's task is going to be?"

"I have no idea," I admitted. "But it's going to be harder than yesterday's."

"I arrived at the same conclusion."

"So what do you think we should do with our time?" I asked him.

I offered to show him around Olympus, since he had never been here before. He accepted. Actually, Olympus was practically as new to me as it was to him because I had yet to visit since Annabeth commenced its reconstruction. I had to say, she had done an absolutely brilliant job (not that I was surprised).

We finished about half an hour before lunch and were at a loss about what to do.

"Well, maybe we should see how we would fight together in a battle. Maybe go over some battle strategy," Jason proposed.

_And here's where Annabeth would normally step in_, I thought. _Well, she's not here right now, so I guess there's no other option…_

"Sure. Why not? We might as well get used to each other's fighting style while we can."

We fought until noon, and then went to lunch. Over lunch, we discussed strategy.

"Do you think that you have any different powers than Thalia does since your dad's Jupiter, not Zeus?" I asked Jason.

"Well, I don't think so. I can summon lightening, fly – "

I almost choked on my food. "Did you say _fly_? Thalia never mentioned she could fly. Then again, knowing her, she would never try…"

"Why wouldn't she try?" Jason asked. "Flying's awesome!"

_Because she's afraid of heights! Hahahahahaha, ehem. If Thalia could read my mind right now…_ I scared myself. I could see her glaring at my right now. "Um, I kinda swore never to tell anyone."

"But I'm her brother!" He gave me a glare.

I just chuckled. "To be honest, Thalia's glare is 100 times worse than yours. And at this moment, I fear her wrath more than I fear yours."

Jason sighed. "Well, anyway. As you already know, my coin can transform into either a spear or a sword. It's made of imperial gold. And I can manipulate the winds. Um… yeah. Your turn?"

I thought for a second. "Ok. I can control water, like I can walk on water, summon waves, and stuff like that. I heal faster in water. Um, when I'm really pressed I can summon a hurricane – "

It was Jason's turn to be shocked. **(haha. Shocked. I couldn't resist. Anyway…)** "_What_?"

"Um, yeah. Like my own mini hurricane. It takes a lot of energy, though, so I can't sustain it for long."

Jason nodded. I continued, "Um, I think you already know about my sword. And I think that's about it for me."

I was just about to respond when Hermes appeared in front of us.

"Hello Percy, Jason! Time to…"

"_Hi, Percy!_"

"_I like rats! Did you bring us rats?_"

"Hi, Martha. No, I didn't bring any rats, George," I replied.

"_George! It's rude to talk like that!_"

"_Well, I'm hungry! What about you? Did __you__ bring rats?_" George asked Jason.

Jason was looking around. I almost laughed – he looked so freaked out. Hermes just looked annoyed.

"George, Martha. I thought I told you two to behave. I just may have to…" he threatened as his hand reached toward a button marked "silent."

"_No, no! We don't need that. We'll behave. Won't we, George?_" Martha said quickly.

"_Yeah. Especially if I get my rats…_"

"_George! Ugh. I really don't know how – _"Martha never finished her statement since Hermes hit the button.

"Anyway, it is time for your second challenge. Are you ready?" Hermes asked us.

"Um, does our answer matter?" I replied.

"Maybe. Just remember, the longer you wait, the more your girlfriends are going to worry…" Hermes responded.

He didn't need to finish. The moment he mentioned our girlfriends, we had decided. "We're ready."

"That's what I thought…" Hermes murmured as he flashed us to an arena.

The arena had changed a lot since the last time I had seen it. There were woods and a creek on one side of the arena and a strange fort-like structure on the other side. The creek looked very similar to the one at Camp Half-Blood, but I didn't recognize the fort.

Jason, on the other hand, seemed to recognize the fort.

"Do you recognize anything out here?"

"Yeah. At Camp Jupiter, we play war games using that fort. The third, fourth, and fifth legions attack the fort and try to get the flags that legions one and two are defending. What about you? Recognize anything?"

"Well, the other half of the field appears similar to Camp Half-Blood. We play capture the flag every Friday."

_Okay_, I thought. _He knows the fort. I'm good with fighting in woods. The woods have water nearby._

"Children! You are here for your next task," announced Jupiter.

_Well, no freakin' duh_, I thought.

"You have two options. Option 1: you can play a game of capture the flag. You will both be on the same team. The fort will be in play. You will be defending the woods/creek side of the arena.

"Option 2: you can play the Roman war game. You two will be attacking the fort, which will be defended.

"In either option, you will have virtual troops and will be fighting virtual monsters and demigods (on a side note, I would like to thank Hephaestus and Athena for designing the system)." They will behave as they would in the real world. You cannot get hurt or killed, but you will feel the pain all the same, and if, say, your arm is cut off, it will 'disappear' for the rest of the game. Understood? Now, choose an option."

I turned to Jason. "What do you think?"

Jason laid out our options. "Well, if we play capture the flag, then you can use the creek to your advantage. But I have more experience with the war games."

I pondered for a moment. "Do you want to go with the war games? They seem harder to win, but harder to lose as well. I mean, it's harder to get to the flag, but in capture the flag, if a fast person gets the flag and evades a couple people, game over."

Jason nodded. "Okay, sure."

We turned to Jupiter. "We choose Option 2: the war games."

**Okay, admittedly I was kinda disappointed with this chapter (although I enjoyed the George and Martha bit) ;-), and it was kinda filler-ish. But I felt like I needed to update some time, and this moves the story along a little. Next chapter will have some action, I promise.**


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